Player 109 has entered the game… That’s right, there’s a new kid in town and they’ve arrived in style, but is that enough to stand out among the 108 other classmates? RAZER is the latest company to try their luck in one of the most competitive, cut-throat industries around. For those unfamiliar with the brand, it is a gaming tech company that provides quality, stand-out equipment for the gaming community. Starting with their uniquely-designed mice and keyboards, RAZER now produce a whole plethora of products from laptops to apparel. With its success, it seemed only a matter of time before they made a handheld device.

Just a brief look at the phone shows that the company didn’t approach the project casually. The phones’ simple but sharp design shows they mean business, but is it enough to ruffle the feathers of the mobile mammoths such as Apple and Samsung?

How does the RAZER phone measure up to the latest releases from Apple and Samsung?

The short answer is not badly at all. If we compare the RAZER phone to the iPhone X and Samsung Galaxy S8, the device doesn’t fall short in too many areas and even surpasses its counterparts in one or two aspects. For instance, on the face of it, the cameras are very similar with all 3 devices having dual 12MP capabilities. The iPhone has a much broader range of functions available for the keen photographers but that’s if you know/care how to use them.

One aspect that the RAZER does win against the other two is the price. The iPhone is the most expensive with prices starting at £999, followed by Samsung at £689. The RAZER phone comes in at a rather modest-looking £595, which is expected for an unproven brand in such a competitive market.

Although RAZER matches the internal storage of that from the iPhone and Samsung at 64GB, the newbie phone lags behind in some of the most innovative aspects of new mobile devices.

Whilst the Galaxy and iPhone have transitioned to Retina Scan and Face ID to unlock the device respectively, the RAZER only manages to use fingerprint technology, which is allegedly less secure. As for charging the device, you are still required to use a plug-in to charge the RAZER whilst both Samsung and Apple give you the option of wireless charging.

There is also no reference to any waterproof/dustproof features which is supposedly down to dual front facing speakers which offer superior sound compared to the big players. The iPhone X and Galaxy S8 offer IP67 and IP68 resistance respectively.

One thing that smartphone users constantly feedback to the manufacturers is their disappointment with battery life. Every new release promises “their most powerful battery yet”, but they never seem to last a full day of use. It looks like the bosses at RAZER wanted to hit the ground running with this one, offering 4000mAh, which is larger than both the Apple (2716mAh) and the Samsung (3000mAh), and is one of the largest batteries found in any smartphone currently available.

Is it ready to take on the big boys?

Despite the phone just about measuring up to the Apple iPhone X and Samsung Galaxy S8, the RAZER phone is very much targeted at a niche market. RAZER are targeting gamers and existing users of their products by providing them with what they want. An example of this can be seen on the phone's screen. Despite the screen only being 0.1 inches smaller than the iPhone and Samsung, it is surrounded by the previously mentioned front-facing speakers. The majority of people would rather listen to sounds coming out of their device using headphones or a Bluetooth speaker. However, only a small number of people would require the phone itself to make a decent enough sound to listen to. The phone itself doesn’t have a headphone jack, instead requires a converter in order to listen to the device using wired headphones/earphones, which is becoming the industry standard.

We absolutely love the fact that RAZER is contributing to a more diverse, more competitive mobile market, and are keen to see more brands take on the big players with innovative technology and thought-out designs. However, we don’t think that the RAZER phone is a considerable threat to the iPhone X or Samsung Galaxy S8 as the product is too niche for a mass market appeal.